• Defender hangs up boots after knee injury at Como
• ‘I have loved fighting for myself, my clubs, my country’

Raphaël Varane has announced his retirement from football aged 31. The former France centre-back made the decision after suffering a serious knee injury at Como in Serie A.

“In my career I have taken on many challenges, rose to occasion after occasion, almost all of it was supposed to be impossible. Reflecting on these moments, it is with immense pride and a feeling of fulfilment that I am announcing my retirement from the game that we all love,” he said on Como’s official X account.